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1966 World Series
The 1966 World Series matched the Baltimore Orioles against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Orioles sweeping the Series in four games to capture the first championship in franchise history. Background Despite the general consensus that the Orioles were short of pitching when compared to the likes of Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, Orioles pitching allowed only two runs in the entire series and ended up with a 0.50 team ERA, the second lowest in World Series history. Jim Barbieri became the first player to play in a Little League World Series and also the real World Series with an at bat in the series. Summary AL Baltimore Orioles (4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (0) Matchups Game 1 Wednesday, October 5, 1966 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California In the top of the first inning, after Luis Aparicio flied to right, Drysdale walked Russ Snyder, and then Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson hit back-to-back home runs to give the Orioles an early 3–0 lead. In the bottom half of the frame, McNally walked Dodger leadoff man Maury Wills, who subsequently stole second. However, the Dodgers failed to score. In the second inning, with Andy Etchebarren on second base, Snyder slapped a base hit past L.A. shortstop Wills and Etchebarren scored to widen the lead to 4–0. However, McNally soon began to struggle with his command. In the bottom of the second inning, second baseman Jim Lefebvre tagged him for a 400-foot home run. First baseman Wes Parker hit a fair ball down the right-field foul line, but a fan reached over the wall and picked the ball out of the dirt, turning a possible triple into a ground rule double. After McNally walked Jim Gilliam, John Roseboro hit a fly ball to right center, but Snyder saved at least a run with a lunging catch, and neither baserunner scored. Drysdale was pulled from the game in the third and replaced with Joe Moeller, who allowed another run in the fourth when Davey Johnson scored from second on a fielder's choice by Aparicio. With one out in the bottom of the third inning, McNally was replaced by Moe Drabowsky after loading the bases on walks. Drabowsky struck out Parker and walked Gilliam, forcing in a run before Roseboro fouled out. Drabowsky struck out six consecutive batters (tying Hod Eller's six in the scandal-tainted 1919 World Series) in the next two innings, tying a World Series record and setting a single game World Series record with eleven overall—one in the third inning, three in the fourth and fifth innings, one in the seventh and eighth innings, and two in the ninth inning. Drabowski broke the previous record of 10 strikeouts in relief by Jesse Barnes of the New York Giants in Game-6 of the 1921 World Series. The Orioles won, 5–2, and the Dodgers would not get another runner across the plate in the series. Game 2 Thursday, October 6, 1966 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California Game 2 pitted 20-year-old Jim Palmer against Dodgers ace Sandy Koufax, whose 1966 season was among his best with 27 wins, 317 strikeouts, 5 shutouts, and his career best 1.73 ERA. Palmer got into trouble in the second with two on and two out, but walked Roseboro and induced Koufax to pop up to second base. Despite the obvious mismatch, Palmer and Koufax traded zeroes on the scoreboard until the top of the fifth inning, when Koufax's defense let him down. Boog Powell singled, and then Paul Blair hit a routine fly ball to center, but Willie Davis lost the ball in the sun and both runners were safe on the error. Then, Etchebarren hit another fly to center, but Davis bobbled the ball and then dropped it. Powell scored on the error, and Davis rushed the throw to third base. The throw was high, and Blair scored on the error. Aparicio then cracked a stand-up double, scoring Etchebarren from third. Davis was charged with three errors in this inning alone. The O's then earned one from Koufax in the sixth as Frank Robinson tripled and Powell drove him in with a single to right-center. Johnson followed with a single to right, and the runners advanced on an error by Ron Fairly. Koufax escaped the inning after walking Blair intentionally and getting Etchebarren to ground into a double play. Etchebarren would be the final batter that Koufax ever faced in his career. He was replaced in the seventh by Ron Perranoski, who set the Orioles down 1-2-3. They would get two from him in the eighth, however, on a walk to Frank Robinson, a single by Brooks Robinson, a sacrifice bunt from Powell and a Johnson single off of Perranoski's shins. Perranoski threw the ball away in a desperate play for an out at the first, and Brooks scored on the error. Palmer completed the shutout when Roseboro popped to Aparicio, the Orioles' shortstop. Jim Palmer, just shy of his 21st birthday, became the youngest pitcher to throw a complete game shutout in the World Series. Baltimore won by a decisive 6–0 score, and took a 2–0 lead in the Series. Game 3 Saturday, October 8, 1966 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland The series moves to Baltimore with the Orioles enjoying a 2–0 series lead. Wally Bunker, plagued with injuries in the regular season retires the first three batters he faces, and pitches a six-hit, complete game gem, while Osteen allows only three hits in seven innings. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a solo home run from Paul Blair in the fifth, which turned to be the deciding run. The Dodgers' defense woke up after Game 2's six-error embarrassment, and turned several excellent plays, most notably first baseman Parker robbing Curt Blefary of a base hit with a spectacular jump to snare his sixth inning line drive. Bunker, without a complete game shutout in the regular season, completes the Orioles' second consecutive shutout, and they win 1–0. Game 4 Sunday, October 9, 1966 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland On the brink of a sweep, Game 4 is a rematch of the first game, pitting young Dave McNally against veteran Don Drysdale, both of whom struggled in their previous match. However, in this outing, both pitchers excelled as Drysdale and McNally each allowed only four hits. Again, the only run scored was on a solo home run, this one by Frank Robinson. Willie Davis redeems himself from his miserable Game 2 defense by robbing Boog Powell of a home run in the fourth, but to no avail as Paul Blair does the same to Jim Lefebvre in the eighth, and the Dodgers were shut out for the third consecutive time and for 33 consecutive innings, a World Series record. Orioles win Game 4, 1–0, and sweep the 1966 World Series. The Orioles became the first non-Yankee American League team to win the World Series since 1948. The Orioles also became the last of the original eight American League teams to win a World Series. They had played in the Fall Classic as the St. Louis Browns in 1944, in which they were also the last of the original eight AL teams to participate in a Series. Frank Robinson became the first non-pitcher from a World Series winning team to win the Sport Magazine Series MVP (Bobby Richardson had won it for the Series-losing New York Yankees in 1960). Composite box 1966 World Series (4–0): Baltimore Orioles (A.L.) over Los Angeles Dodgers (N.L.) |}} Aftermath Los Angeles' Sandy Koufax, though arguably at the peak of his career, announced his retirement after the Series due to a chronic sore elbow that required constant medical treatment to allow him to pitch effectively. This was also the last World Series appearance for Don Drysdale and Maury Wills. Rookie Don Sutton, who later pitched in 4 World Series, was on the roster (Dodgers' #4 starter), but he did not pitch in the Series. Low scoring *The Baltimore Orioles shut the Los Angeles Dodgers out for a World Series record 33 consecutive innings - from the fourth inning of Game 1 to the end of Game 4. *The Baltimore Orioles pitching staff only allowed two (2) earned runs and finished with a team ERA of 0.50. American League World Series pitching staffs through 1966: Notes References *Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series. 1st ed. New York: St Martins, 1990. *Reichler, Joseph, ed. (1982). The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.), p. 2174. MacMillian Publishing. ISBN 0-02-579010-2. * External links *1966 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com *[http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/history/postseason/mlb_ws_recaps.jsp?feature=1966 1966 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)] *1966 World Series at Baseball-Almanac.com *1966 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org World Series Category:Baltimore Orioles Category:Los Angeles Dodgers Category:World Series